On October 16, 2006,
Lee Catlin
, Albemarle County’s Community Relations Manager, was a guest on
WINA’s Charlottesville Live
morning radio program. In this segment, hosts Jane Foy and Rob Schilling ask Lee Catlin about heating fuel assistance programs and the
results from the County’s recently published
2006 Citizen Survey
.
Podcast produced by Charlottesville Tomorrow * Player by Odeo
Listen using player above or download the podcast:
Download 20061016-WINA-Catlin.MP3
Highlights
In her remarks, Ms. Catlin described the survey results that show the public continues to rate the County highly when it comes to
quality of life
( 8.04 on a scale of 1 to 10). Further, she indicated that while there is some concern about the County’s ability to manage growth, the strategy to channel growth into designated growth areas is receiving continued support from residents (72.6% indicating they are in favor of these efforts to direct where growth and development occurs).
Here are the survey’s conclusions on growth management:
“Overall, citizens were satisfied with the job the county government is doing in maintaining the quality of life while accommodating growth and development. Approximately three-quarters (73.4%) of residents were somewhat or very satisfied, nearly the same percentage as in 2004 (70.7%)….
In regards to the County’s efforts to manage growth, only about half (55.6%) were somewhat or very satisfied with the county government’s efforts.
This is not significantly different from the satisfaction levels in 2004 (56.4%) but is the second lowest item in terms of satisfaction….
In regards to the coded geographical areas, residents from the development areas expressed more satisfaction than residents from the rural areas
.”
This last statement indicating that the population in our development areas is
more satisfied
with the County’s efforts to manage growth benefits from further analysis.
In the appendix of the survey (C-17, Page 95 of PDF-“Manage growth in the county”), there is certainly an interesting difference of opinion between rural area and development area residents, however, the geographic area cited in the report’s conclusions above
excludes
Crozet, Hollymead/Piney Mountain, and the Village of Rivanna. Here is the data:
|
Satisfaction item | Rural Areas | Dev Areas (1-7) (i.e. urban ring) | Other Growth Areas (e.g. Crozet) |
Overall |
|
Manage growth in the county | 50.8% satisfied | 61.3% | 53.2% |
55.6% |
Development Areas 1-7 [
click for map
] are all in the urban ring immediately surrounding the City of Charlottesville. The survey separated Crozet, Hollymead, etc. into a separate group called “Other Growth Areas.” The “other growth areas” had a level of satisfaction much closer to those in the rural areas.
Charlottesville Tomorrow
will continue to examine the results in the County’s survey. For example, I am hoping the County can provide a geographic breakdown of the 72.6% who indicated they are in favor of the designated growth areas. I have not been able to find that data in the report. I also welcome the assessments of others and hope readers will leave a comment here on the blog.
Brian Wheeler
